Lawn ornament: About 3,000 protestors swarmed the White House lawn yesterday to protest the Keystone XL pipeline. They marched around the building carrying signs, squishy foam fingers, and, of course, a 500 foot-long inflatable pipeline. The protesters were careful to keep the pipeline away from the prickly Rose Garden, for fear it may, um, spring a leak. The Guardian, Huffington Post
Range Life: Colorado ranchers hit hard by the drought's parched land and skyrocketing feed prices are facing a tough economic decision whether to cull their herds. Making matters worse is that any future replacement cattle would be vulnerable to the larkspur, a pink and purple flower that is also poisonous. Apparently, adjusting to the local grazing menu can be killer. The Daily Climate
Once upon an Oakie: Before the BP spill, and before the Chernobyl disaster, there was the Dust Bowl, one of the largest man-made environmental disasters in history. A new documentary by Ken Burns delivers an intimate and harrowing portrait of life on the plains in the 1930s. Hold on to your hats. National Geographic
Sludge and sand: Two words that you never want to see in a news headline (again) are “Exxon” and “spill.” And yet here we are. Waters off the Niger Delta are awash in oil from a leaky Exxon pipeline, which has jeopardized the livelihoods of local fishermen. But don’t worry, Exxon apologized (again). Reuters
Hit the brakes: Want to cut air pollution near shipping ports? Just tell those massive tanks to take it down a notch. Turns out slower speeds could cut nasty smog chemicals by more than half, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent. Environmental Health News
Coyote ugly: A New Mexico gun show owner devised a new plan to get rid of coyotes. I think you might be able to guess where this is going ... yup, he held a shooting contest. Despite a storm of protest from across the country, the hunt went on as planned this weekend. LA Times, The Guardian
Unwanted dinner guest: Just about every traditional Thanksgiving dish will take a hit as food supplies become more unstable and growing ranges shift. Hey climate change, get you fingers out of my pie! MotherJones
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: USDAgov/Flickr
